Anthony R. Suarez (born 1967) is a

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

attorney and has served as

Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey *Anthony R. Suarez 2004 to 2023. He was arrested in Operation Bid Rig and later acquitted. *Alexander Shaler Alexander Shaler (March 19, 1827 – December 28, 1911) was a Union Army general in the American Civil ...

from 2004 to 2023. He was appointed to a judgeship on the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

in 2023.

Biography

Suarez was born in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, and was raised in nearby Ridgefield. He graduated from

Ridgefield Memorial High School Ridgefield Memorial High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school located in Ridgefield, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school o ...

in 1984. He then attended Saint Peter's College in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in 1988. He received a J.D. degree from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

in 1993. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1993 and the New York Bar in 1994. He has been an attorney at the Fort Lee law firm Dario Yacker Suarez & Albert. Suarez was elected to the Ridgefield Borough Council in 1998, and was reelected to the Council in 2001. He was elected mayor in 2003 and was reelected in 2007. He is the first elected Latino mayor in the history of

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Operation Bid Rig Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014 ...

, a joint operation of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey into

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. Suarez was charged with accepting a $10,000 cash bribe from an FBI informant through a middleman, Vincent Tabbachino, for assistance in arranging approvals to develop properties in Ridgefield. Though the two other mayors implicated in the sting operation,

Peter Cammarano Peter J. Cammarano III (born July 22, 1977) is an American disbarred attorney, former Democratic politician and convicted felon. He was the 37th mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, serving from July 1 until July 31, 2009. Cammarano was arrested by th ...

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

and Dennis Elwell of

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 census count of 16,264, which in turn reflected an in ...

, resigned following their arrests, Suarez rebuffed calls for his resignation, including from Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

. On August 3, 2009, Corzine launched an investigation into whether the State of New Jersey should seize control of Ridgefield's finances. Targeting Ridgefield, Corzine also signed an Executive Order freezing development approvals in municipalities with chief executives facing corruption charges who have not resigned from office. Suarez was acquitted on all charges on October 27, 2010.

Judicial appointment

In 2023, Governor

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...

appointed Suarez to become a judge of the

David Wildstein David Wildstein (born September 1961) is an American businessman, former Republican Party politician, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the New Jersey political news website ''New Jersey Globe''. A former mayor of Livingston, New Jersey, he ...

of the

New Jersey Globe David Wildstein (born September 1961) is an American businessman, former Republican Party politician, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the New Jersey political news website '' New Jersey Globe''. A former mayor of Livingston, New Jersey, h ...

called Suarez's nomination "a complete and total vindication of the Ridgefield mayor" following Operation Bid Rig. Following his

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

confirmation, Judge Suarez was assigned to the Bergen County Superior Court, Civil Division.Order - Judge Anthony R. Suarez – Initial Judicial Assignment
Mar. 20, 2023

References

External links

Suarez & Tabbachino criminal complaint

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

, July 23, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Anthony 1967 births Living people Lawyers from Englewood, New Jersey Saint Peter's University alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni Mayors of Ridgefield, New Jersey New Jersey city council members New Jersey Democrats Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey Operation Bid Rig Hispanic and Latino American mayors in New Jersey Ridgefield Memorial High School alumni New Jersey state court judges 20th-century New Jersey politicians 21st-century American judges 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey